Georgia MBB wins season opener 85-75 over Florida A&M

ATHENS- The Georgia men’s basketball team finally got out on the court to compete after the first two games of the season were cancelled.

The Bulldogs were originally scheduled to face off against Columbus State on Wednesday and then Garder-Webb Sunday, but due to COVID cases, both of those games were wiped. 

Georgia (1-0) managed to find a new opponent for Sunday in Florida A&M and opened the season with an 85-75 victory. 

Georgia got out to a quick 13-2 start, but it did not last as A&M went on a 14-4 run over the next six minutes.

“We want to be a quick-starting team – that was a very quick start for us,” said Crean. “We were locked in. We had a great walkthrough this morning. They were lively and energetic and ready to play against somebody else, but then reality sets in, and you are actually playing against someone else. In practice, you can stop things, you can do X amount of possessions and then change over, and we had to keep going and these guys learned,” third-year head coach Tom Crean said.

Georgia’s lead was just 38-37 at halftime. 

The Bulldogs definitely missed the impact that newly signed NBA players Anthony Edwards and Rashuan Hammonds had on the court. 

This is a young team with a lot of new faces that came via the transfer portal, and it will take some time for the team to gel against their competitors. 

One of those new faces showed that he can score the basketball. Andrew Garcia, the graduate transfer from Stony Brook, put up 22 points off the bench. He made 10 free throws and shot 75% from the field. 

Sophomore guard Sahvir Wheeler racked up 12 points and a career-high 12 assists. He looks to be a leader for this young team in an uncertain season. 

Georgia won the game, but the important note is that these players were able to compete in the safest environment possible. 

“We’re not priveledged because we get to play basketball. We’re priveledged because we get to do something that we love with a great medical team,” Crean said ahead of the contest. 

With two cancellations and one game under their belt, the Georgia Bulldogs are thankful that they got to play basketball on Sunday and especially grateful for the victory. 

Georgia’s next game is another home matchup that scheduled for for Friday at 7 pm.